Framing the first of three new woodsheds Callum wanted built was going pretty quickly. A miracle, Jase thought grouchily, considering Colton’s mouth worked a lot faster than the rest of him.
Having Colton back working by his side had been fun the first day. He’d made Jase laugh with impersonations of recent people he’d met, reminding him what a good storyteller and observer of human nature he could be. It was almost enough to calm Jase’s reservations and give him hope that his brother was going to take the newly re-offered job seriously. He’d even shown up early, with his rucksack of clothing and personal belongings, planning to live on site.
Now, with hardly more than a full shift under their belts and despite their progress, Jase could barely keep from growling whenever he glanced over at Colton, who was measuring two by fours, then cutting them to length according to the list of needed sizes Jase had given him.
The circular saw whined through another piece and the leftover end clattered down. Colton slid his safety goggles up and his hearing protector earmuffs down, so they looped around his neck. “That it?”
“For now. Come give me a hand with this and hold it steady while I anchor it.”
Colton walked toward the beam Jase was holding in place, going as slowly as a person could, while still moving forward. Why had he accepted the job if he had no real intention of actually working?
“I’m serious,” Colton said, continuing the line of conversation that made Jase want to punch him in the face and was the reason Jase gave him saw duty in the first place—to shut him up. “She’s totally into me. That’s why she always acts pissed off whenever I’m around. She’s trying to cover.”
“Or she sees through you and has the good sense to steer clear.”
Colton snickered. “No way. You’ll see. Fifty bucks says we hook up within the month.”
Rage blurred Jase’s vision. He took a calming breath and when his head was on straight again, drilled three screws with hard, fast precision. “You can let go now.” He finished securing the board while Colton waited for the next spelled out task. “And I’m not betting on whether you can or cannot get a date. It’s demeaning to her, and it should be demeaning to you.”
“Date? Who said anything about a date? I said we’d hook up.”
Jase retrieved his level and placed it on the board he’d just fixed in place. He’d already checked before he hammered it in, of course, but he liked to doublecheck. Satisfied everything was square so far, he gave Colton a cool glance. No good ever came of letting Colton see he was getting to you. If Colton decided Jase had a thing for Aisha too, he’d be even more unbearable, wouldn’t be able to resist what he’d see as competition.
“I thought you and Becca had something going?” That was a bit of a lie, of course. Jase didn’t think it, he knew it—but if that fling had exploded, Colton’s free place to crash and endless party invitations had dried up. It would explain not only his interest in Aisha, but also his decision to agree to the more constraining job terms.
Colton shrugged and winked. “Oh, we did. She’s a total slut.”
Jase didn’t bother to hide his disgust. “Nice, real nice.”
This was an old battle for them, and Colton didn’t bother to pretend he didn’t know what offended Jase. “What? She is. So am I. It’s called fun, my brother. You should try it sometime.”
Jase grunted and delivered one of his old and tired stock lines too. “You and I have very different ideas about fun and about women.” And about work. And about life. And about . . . pretty much everything, he added in his head.
Colton laughed. “Well, maybe you have different ideas about women than I do—but which one of us actually has any experience with them lately?”
Jase pulled off his leather work gloves and tossed them onto a nearby sawhorse. “I need something to eat.”
“You mean we get meal breaks? Lunch at lunch time and everything? How many minutes and seconds do we get, boss man?”
Jase rolled his eyes. “If you didn’t want the structured days and schedule, why’d you take the job?”
“I told you. The dough. And the challenge—”
“And I told you, no. Leave Aisha the hell alone!” The instant the words exploded from him, Jase recognized his mistake.
Colton’s eyes were calculating as he scrutinized Jase and his expression grew merry.
Shit! Maybe by “challenge” Colton hadn’t been referring to Aisha at all. Maybe he’d forgotten all about his passing plan to leech onto her—but now Jase had tipped his hand and Colton would be committed to it.
“I just don’t want either of us to do anything to jeopardize this gig,” he said tiredly, hoping to throw Colton off the scent. “It’s solid—good money, nice digs, great food. Let’s hunker down for a bit and make bank. When we’re flush, if you still hate it, we can head somewhere new.”
Or you can, he thought. Fingers crossed.
Colton removed his goggles and hearing protection and placed them beside Jase’s gloves. For a second, the highest of hopes soared through Jase. Maybe Colton was going to buy in.
“It’s a good plan, buddy, but come on, we gotta make it interesting. All work and no play and all that.”
One more thing about Colton that irritated Jase: how he twisted the things Mike used to tell them at the group home.
“Let’s make it a hundred that sweet little piece will be all over me.”
Jase was torn. Should he hunt Callum down right now and tell him he and Colton had to quit, no apologies, no excuses, so Callum wouldn’t try to talk him out of it, or should he rush to find Aisha, wherever she was, and warn her off Colton.
Colton brayed like the jackass he was all too often, then let out a low whistle. “Your face! Hoo, boy—you’re going to give yourself a heart attack, man. Relax. I’m just kidding.”
Jase didn’t relax.
“You’re getting your panties in a twist over nothing. Aisha’s a big girl. She’s not going to do anything she doesn’t want to do, and I promise I won’t misrepresent myself or my intentions.”
“That doesn’t exactly ease my mind.”
Colton grinned. “Cause you’re freak, but you’re not an idiot.”
Against his will, Jase felt a small return smile crack his face. The thing that always made him forgive Colton his shortcomings was how he never tried to pretend he was anything he wasn’t—with Jase, anyway. It was his one consistently redeeming quality.
“Okay.” Jase took a big breath and expelled it through his nose. “So, for real, how long are you going to work this job seriously?”
“For real,” Colton mimicked like they were still eleven, “as long as I can stand it.”
Really, if Colton had said anything different, it would’ve been a lie, intentional or not. “Fair enough. Let’s go eat.”
“You said that already, boss.”
Oh yeah, this was working out awesome.